Chapter Five

Chapter Five

          The next morning came much too early because when Roxi finally did roll out of bed, it was much later than she intended it to be. Blinking the sleep from her eyes, she let out a yawn and sat up, stretching her arms out above her head. Immediately her thoughts went back to last night and leaping out of bed, she headed to her closet and quickly dressed in a pair of torn up only jeans, her same black boots and a somewhat flowing white tank top. Snatching her leather jacket off the chair at the last minute, Roxi headed out of her bedroom, glancing in a mirror that hung on the wall briefly to be sure her hair wasn’t a complete and total mess.

          Making her way towards the living room, she crossed her fingers that Crew was still there, content and asleep on her couch. As she turned the corner, her heart sank immediately, seeing the couch empty and the blanket she had put on him the other night folded up on the arm. Sighing sadly, she trudged into the kitchen, heading over to the windows to pull open the sheets of the metal only to find that they had already been opened.

          Confusion clouded her features as she glanced around the house and saw that all the doors were open as well. Her light blue eyes shifted to catch a glimpse at the clock, fear pulsing through her for a moment but the clock read a safe time of 11:22 am. Crew had to have opened them for her when he left that morning. Slumping her shoulders at the lost hope of still having a companion in this lonely and desolate world, Roxi went to the kitchen and opened the fridge before pulling out a peach and heading to the sink to rinse it off.

          Raising her gaze to look out the window that was set above the sink, Roxi felt her heart leap into her throat as she caught sight of Crew strutting across her front yard. Quickly shutting off the water, she dried off the fruit before heading out the front door. Catching sight of her immediately, Crew smiled at her before heading over to her. At first Roxi felt relief and excitement as well as happiness that he was still here, but then it shifted a bit to frustration and hurt. She raised her eyebrows and let a smirk make its way across her face as she looked at him, her eyes sweeping up and down his body once before remaining on his face.

          “What the f**k are you still doing here.” She demanded, crossing her arms over her chest as she glared at him accusingly. Surprising herself with how harsh her words sounded, she didn’t apologize for the tone. After all, he had made her look stupid last night when she had practically thrown herself at him and he had seemed all interested only to get bored and go to sleep on the couch. What kind of guy did that!? Ever!?

          “Well good morning to you too sunshine.” He replied, grabbing his backpack off the ground where he must have left it and slinging it over his shoulder. An amused smirk was on his face as he very obviously looked her up and down before letting his gaze rest on her face.

          “You said you were leaving this morning. In case you were unaware, it’s almost twelve o clock. Which is the afternoon. Not the morning.” She answered, not laughing or even acting amused by his smart a*s greeting. Clenching her teeth a bit, she narrowed her eyes at him a bit when he looked her over as if she were something to win. Oh so now he was interested again? She couldn’t keep up with this kid!

          “I was but then I slept in later than I intended. But I’m packing up now and heading out.” He assured her, putting his hands up as if to ward of an attack. A smile still played at his lips as he looked down at her, his blue eyes shining with a hint of mischief as he watched her intently.

          “Good because I have a lot of things to do today and if you hadn’t noticed this isn’t a charity.” She snapped back before preparing to turn on her heel and storm off. That would help make her point and wipe that smug grin off his face. It was like he was rubbing in the fact that he knew he could have her whenever he wanted her in her face and that wasn’t going to fly with Roxi. Hell no it wasn’t.

          “I’m aware of that. How about I hang around a bit longer and help you out. Ya know, to pay you back for your hospitality.” He responded, putting his hands in the pockets of his jeans. Anger began to make its way onto her features now as she raised her eyebrows a bit before answering.

          “Thank you so much for the offer but I think I can handle it on my own. Plus, you should probably get going. After all there are so many others girls out there waiting to throw themselves at you.” She blurted out in anger. Attempting to shove past him, she almost ended up getting knocked on the ground as she stormed off and headed towards the barn behind him, taking a big bite out of her peach.

          Crew was right behind her, a bit of confusion and a hint of hurt on his face as he trailed behind her.

          “What are you so pissed about? Last night? Is that it?” he questioned, following behind her as she made her way into the barn. Shutting the door behind them, he kept hot on her heels, obviously not leaving until he got an answer.

          “No, ya know Crew it’s whatever. It doesn’t matter. Just go on your merry way and leave me alone. I’m sure you’ve got quite a few options when it comes to who you are going to f**k each night!” she shouted back at him, surprised at how loud her voice was when it echoed around the barn and sent a couple of birds flying out of the rafters.

          “Oh I get it, I bruised your ego because I didn’t f**k you last night, is that it?” he called after her, coming to stand in front of the black pickup truck and leaning his back against it while crossing his arms over his chest.

          “Of course not Crew, I’m completely used to throwing myself at a guy only to have him sleep on the couch instead of with me. Typical guy reaction.” She retorted as she started climbing up a ladder so she could reach one of the higher shelves that held supplies.

          Pushing off of the truck, Crew headed over to her, standing at the foot of the ladder and looking up at her as she continued to climb higher and higher until she reached the shelf she was getting at.

          “Well I’m sorry Roxi for not f*****g the s**t out of you last night like you probably wanted. But the reason I didn’t-“, he was cut short as Roxi gave a sharp tug on one of the plastic tubs she was trying to get into, only to lose her grip and fall backwards. Moving so he was underneath her, Crew stretched out his arms and quickly caught her in his strong arms before she had the chance to hit the cement ground below their feet.

          Roxi’s heart was beating a mile a minute as the adrenaline coursed through her body and it took her a few seconds to realize she wasn’t bruised and broken on the floor but instead in the strong and secure arms of Crew as he cradled her, her arms wrapping around his neck in fear.

          “Was because if I ever sleep with you, I don’t want it to be a random hook up. . .” he finished, his voice trailing off a bit as his eyes gazed into hers for a long moment. He stood there holding her for a while longer before she pulled herself together and moved so he would put her down. Once her feet were on the ground, she felt her knees were a lot weaker than she thought so she stretched out her hand and grabbed onto the back end of the truck to keep her balance. She wasn’t sure if it was the fall or his words that had made her shaky but she pushed the thought to the back of her mind as she cleared her throat and stood up straight.

          “Grab that bin and bring it into the house.” She finally stated simply, no real tone to her voice as she gave him one last look before heading towards the door of the barn. Once outside, Roxi took a deep breath of the cool early summer air, thankful for the breeze that swept through constantly. Her long dark hair blew about her face a bit but she ignored it, straightening up once more when Crew reappeared in the door of the barn with the bin she had been trying to retrieve in his grasp. Looking over at her for a quick second, he turned his gaze onto the house and headed inside, not coming back out.